Jake's Final Adventure (ON HOLD)
by Mr. Nanook
Summary: Jake's stretchy powers came with a price. He's suffering from a rare disease that is unfortunately incurable and doesn't have much time left. Finn can't believe it and doesn't know how to handle his best friend's future demise. Soon he plunges into a world that he's never been to before and it's unknown if he'll ever get out. Rated T for Blood, Mild Language and Sexual Content.
1. Fault

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Boy, talk about a convoluted history! This fanfic has actually been in development hell since **_**July 2012!**_** Wow! This idea was conceived that same month, but I don't have a precise timeline of the order of events to what led it to be put on the shelf for almost a year. It's a long story, so if you're not interested in hearing it, skip to the disclaimer.**

**Fresh off the heels with the success of **_**Anti-Finn**_**, I immediately began work on my next fanfic. It was to be a dark, dramatic tragedy involving Jake suffering a terminal illness and Finn being unsure of how to cope with it. The outline was completed while **_**Anti-Finn**_** chapters were still being uploaded. August came and development began. About two weeks later, I had already run into a roadblock as I already despised where the story was going. I completely scrapped the majority of the second chapter and began work on **_**What If? Volume One **_**instead. **

**The next three months were spent on working on another project that was later cancelled. All I know is that I started to really despise this place. The majority of the stories on here were just pairings and not much else. This lack of variety really killed my creativity and led me to go on hiatus. **

**By the end of December, I had gone off my ass and started to work on my "epic comeback fanfic", which was **_**What If? Volume Two**_**. It had taken me two weeks to type it all up. You couldn't imagine how happy I was. I was so excited to come back and thought that nothing would go wrong! My return to the **_**Adventure Time**_** fanfic scene! I couldn't wait!**

**But, of course, it did. **_**What If? Volume Two**_** was a complete failure, raking in less than two hundred views and only three reviews. This number was very disappointing to me and made me rethink about writing anything **_**Adventure Time**_** related.**

**It was actually worse than that. I succumbed into a mild depression and began smoking again. I just kept wondering how an aspiring author like me can strive in this fandom when my unique concepts play second fiddle to shipping bullshit that's just old hat. Honestly, how was I supposed to compete with that garbage? It's kinda sad when Adventure Time porn artists have more imagination than fanfic writers. Soon, this place became a cesspool of overdone shipping fanfics and I decided to grab my life preserver and get the hell out of there, never to turn back.**

**Here we are, roughly twelve months later and now I've decided to take action, stop bitching, prepare for my second comeback, and dig up this project because I still see potential in it. I've reread what I have written since the last time I worked on the project and I was horrified with my shoddy work. Honestly, the original drafts were beyond terrible and did not live up to the quality that I always aim for, so a complete rewrite was necessary. **

**Views are no longer a factor. I mean, as long as I get my story out there, that's more than enough. Due to many events happening and new things introduced in the show since then, I've decided to make this fanfic take place in the past. So let's rewind the clock back to mid-July 2012; where Finn and Flame Princess weren't going out, Lady Rainicorn wasn't pregnant and gave birth to five "things", Lemongrab didn't have a clone, the completely (at least in my opinion) thrown-in backstory between Marceline and Ice King wasn't there, Farmworld wasn't discovered, and most importantly, Marshall Lee didn't talk. Read on and find out what you've been missing for nearly a year!**

_**Adventure Time**_** and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Cartoon Network. I own nothing except for the story, plot, and any characters I created that may occur.**

* * *

**FAULT**

It was another bright morning in the Land of Ooo. The sun was shining bright and the birds were singing a pleasant tune. The sun always looked great around the Grasslands. It always appeared to shimmer the brightest there, but maybe it's because the green grass always looked greener when it shined on it. The bright rays gleamed through the window from Finn and Jake's bedroom. There, in his bed laid a boy; no older than thirteen, wrapped in a sleeping bag and snoring softly. As the ray of light glared in his face, the boy slowly opened his eyes and awoke. With a short yawn, the boy slid out of his sleeping bag and placed his feet on the hard, wooden floor.

"Morning already?" he asked himself and rubbed his eyes. He stood up, scratched the lower part of his back and walked towards the window to look outside. "Man, it's a bright morning today, huh Jake?" Finn opened the window to smell the fresh air outside. He exhaled with bliss, having a feeling that today would be a great day. Finn soon realized that Jake hadn't answered his earlier question. He turned around and noticed that Jake was not in the room. It seemed that he hadn't done his bed as it the blanket was hanging from the edge, very close to falling off the drawer. It almost looked like Jake had possibly fallen off his bed. Finn assumed that Jake had another nightmare. Not desiring to pursue the matter any further, Finn climbed down the ladder to go find Jake.

"Hey, Jake?" he called out. "You down here?" Finn had entered the treasure room, but didn't find anyone there. Next, he checked the kitchen, but again found nothing; not even a bowl of cereal. Finn opened the front door and checked outside, hoping to find Jake out there. Instead, he was greeted to the sight of a two-headed duck dancing with bugs. Finn was sure Jake would want to be a part of that, so he found it odd not seeing him dancing with the group outside.

Finn walked outside and headed towards the garage to check if Jake was there. Upon opening the door, he was greeted to the sight of BMO and Neptr building two large robots that resembled themselves. The BMO robot was about four feet tall and resembled a much more mechanical-looking BMO, complete with various green metal plates and a clear plastic window for a screen. The Neptr robot was slightly smaller at three-and-a-half feet, but better resembled Neptr and was even made with the same materials, but much larger. It took a while for the two of them to find a large microwave for a body, but Choose Goose managed to have one and was willing to hand it over for five boysenberry pies. Both robots were unpainted and had many bolts sticking out of their joints, just waiting to be screwed in. BMO handed Neptr and screwdriver and received a blowtorch in return.

"How's your robot looking, BMO?" Neptr asked as it turned the screws clockwise from its robot clone's backside.

"Pretty good, Neptr," BMO replied. It was using a blowtorch to mend the cracks from its clone's sides. "When these are done, the contest is in the bag!"

"You really think we'll win? We'll be fighting some pretty tough robots, you know!" Neptr replied, picking up a nearby wrench and tightening some bolts around the front of its robot.

"Easy as cake!" BMO happily declared. It turned around and noticed Finn standing in the garage doorway, confused at what was going on. "Oh! Good morning Finn!"

"Good morning, creator," Neptr greeted. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Oh, uh I'm okay. What are you two doing?" Finn asked, wanting to know the reason behind these robots that the two robots were building.

"We're building robots to enter into a tournament today!" BMO said. "It's an exciting game of cat-and-mouse as eight robots fight to the death for the grand prize!" BMO walked towards Neptr's robot and said, "With these two babies, we are already on the road to victory!"

"That sounds awesome!" Finn said. "...but wait. Aren't you two robots?"

"Yeah... so?" BMO said.

"So why don't you two enter instead?"

Neptr gasped and dropped its wrench. "Creator, you don't suggest we actually put our lives on the line in this barbaric event! They'd kill us!"

"Yeah, Finn! I heard 'The Killamajig' will be there," BMO mentioned and shivered as it spoke.

"What's 'The Killamajig'?" Finn asked.

"Oh, it is just the most terrifying robot to roam the earth! It has sharp nails for teeth, big drills for hands, four wheels for legs, a giant fan in its chest to grind up smaller robots, and has the most frightening voice you could ever hear! I'm not going to fight him!" BMO said and made hand gestures as it listed the frightening attributes of the robot that they would have to face at the tournament. "And that's why we're building these robots to take that jerk out!"

"Hmm," Finn hummed. "Interesting. You two need any help?"

"We're just putting the finishing touches on these robots, so we're good," Neptr responded. "Thanks anyway, creator!"

"Well, okay." Finn was set to leave, but then remembered something. "Hey, have you two seen Jake around?" he asked the pair.

"Not since yesterday," BMO said. "I don't know where he's been. Perhaps he is sick?"

"I doubt it," Finn commented. "He should be around somewhere. I'll check upstairs again. Good luck with the tournament!"

"Please! With robots like these, who needs luck?" BMO replied smugly. Finn laughed and shut the garage door. He reentered the house and headed upstairs to find Jake. The house was eerily quiet today, apart from the sounds of robots being built in the garage. Finn looked under his bed and found his old sword down there, along with his crossbow.

"Slamacow! I've been looking all over for these!" Finn reached for the crossbow, but then heard a violent cough coming from the bathroom. Finn turned around stared at the door. Another cough came from the bathroom. He slowly walked toward the source of the coughs and waited again. He then heard the sound of someone hacking from behind the door. Finn had heard enough; he reached for the doorknob and twisted it, but found that it was locked. The hacking soon stopped and Finn knocked on the door instead.

"Uh, occupied!" the voice said. Finn easily identified it as Jake; the very person that he had been looking for. He smiled and knocked on the door again.

"Jake, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, man!" he said. "You okay in there?"

"Uh, fine! Just fine!" he replied rather nervously. Finn didn't notice and nodded. "I'm okay. Just give me a minute and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Oh, okay. Hey, are we still heading to the Housie Village today?"

"Oh! Uh, definitely! Definitely, yeah! Just let me finish up here and we'll be good to go!"

"Okay. I'll gonna go change. See you downstairs!" Finn responded happily. He then walked to his dresser to pick out his clothes to wear today.

In the bathroom, a slightly pale Jake was standing over the sink wiping his mouth. He looked at himself in the mirror and told himself, "Okay, Jake. You can do this." He took a deep breath and unexpectedly coughed again. He had been coughing since four AM and didn't know why. He had been feeling rather odd all week. His appetite has been very odd as he found himself eating only once a day, his muscles felt weak and sometimes wiggled like wet noodles when he wasn't moving, and he had been coughing badly ever since. Some nights, it was even painful to lie down and sleep and on the nights he did sleep, he found it very difficult to stand up in the morning. Finn assumed that this was all just laziness, but Jake knew something was wrong with him.

What was the most noticeable aspect of his illness was stretching. As the days went by, Jake found it a little painful to stretch. The first day he noticed it, it didn't hurt too much. By the fourth day, the agony of stretching a limb would be too much for him to handle. One time, he stretched his arm to pick an apple from a tree and the pain was just excruciating. It felt like a million searing-hot sharp pins were puncturing his arm. The day before, he found it very difficult to keep his composure while stretching into a ball to break open an entrance to a dungeon. On top of that, Jake would suffer these nasty headaches from time to time that would last for hours before going away. He was sure that all these pains would pass, but only seemed to get worse before it got better.

To his credit, Jake was doing a rather good job at hiding his pain from Finn. He didn't want to worry the boy with any bad news about his health. Finn can get pretty emotional when it comes to illnesses. For Jake, it was best to never let his illness and suffering visible for Finn to see. The first time he encountered the nature of a family member having an illness was way back when he was a young child. Needless to say, Jake found that it would be best to simply hide his discomfort and see a doctor soon.

Jake coughed one last time and spit out any saliva or mucus left in his mouth. To his disdain, the only thing he spit out was a familiar red substance: blood. Jake's eyes widened as he saw the blood flow down the drain. He started to sweat, wondering what else could happen next. Will he vomit blood, as well? Will blood flow from his eyes? His ears? His mouth? Will he start... _urinating_ blood? Jake gasped at the possibilities, but was brought back to reality via Finn knocking on the door again.

"Jake!" Finn called from the other side. "You almost done in there, man? I'm ready to go!"

Jake shook his head, slapped his face and replied, "Yeah, I'll be right out! Just got some more freshening-up to do. I'll meet you outside in a minute!"

"Okay, I'll be waiting," Finn said. Jake put his ear to the door and heard Finn walk away. Jake sighed in relief and went back to look at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were slightly bloodshot due to the lack of sleep last night and his limbs felt liked dried spaghetti. Jake suddenly found it hard to breathe from his nose and had to use his mouth to inhale. There was no doubt something was very wrong with Jake, but he was determined to fight through this and show Finn that everything was okay.

Jake took another deep breath and said, "Here we go." to himself. He turned the faucet of the sink on and washed the remainder of the blood away. Grabbing a nearby cup, he poured some water into it, sipped some of the water, gargled with it, and spit it out. As he watched it flow down the drain, he quietly coughed one more time, turned off the faucet and walked out the bathroom to start the day.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTES: The original draft for this chapter was over 8000 words long, but I decided to split it into separate chapters because honestly, who would want to read such a long chapter? Anyway, more to come! So to avoid having to scan over many shipping fanfics just to find updates for this story, why not hit the "Follow Story" button down there and save yourself the hassle? Better yet, hit the "Follow Author" button to not miss anything related to Nanook! This is my comeback, so more stories are to come!**

**Reviews, comments, criticisms, questions, corrections, fun facts, stock options, good reasons on why Fiolee sucks, and words of inspiration are welcome and as usual, requests or suggestions on where the story should go should stay out of my sight. Nanook out.**

_**Anyone know when "Guitar Time!" is going to be updated?  
No? Okay.  
-Mr. Nanook**_


	2. Downfall

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm very pleased to see people are actually reading, reviewing, and following the fanfic. Just knowing that someone out there is actually reading what I put out makes me feel fuzzy inside. You see, kids? There's more to life than shipping! Well, here's chapter two.**

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**DOWNFALL**

Finn and Jake headed to the Housie Village to check its status. Rumor has it that Donny is sick today, so he went to the hospital. Finn knew the Whywolves would most likely strike today, and early morning would be the perfect time to attack the Housies. It was almost nine AM. The pair walked through the Grasslands to the direction of the Housie village.

"Hey, Finn," Jake said. "You really think Whywolves would be out now? It's pretty early. Don't they go out at night?"

"Nah, man. I read a book that said Whywolves can attack at any time during the day," Finn assured him. "So we gotta be on our toes if we want to keep the Housies safe. FROM EVIL!" He raised his fist in the air triumphantly. Jake smiled at his brother's strong stance on justice.

"Heheh," Jake chuckled. "Yeah, man."

"Hey, Jake?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, Finn?"

"Are you..." Finn paused to find the word that he was looking for. "...are you okay?"

Jake turned to him and said, "What? Yeah, of course I'm fine! Why do you ask?"

"Well, you sounded like you were coughing pretty bad in the bathroom. I was thinking that maybe-

"I'm not sick!" Jake said abruptly, cutting Finn off before he could finish his sentence.

"I'm not saying you are!" Finn assured.

"Oh," Jake said, feeling rather embarrassed. Finn was growing rather suspicious of his brother's odd behavior this morning. First the violent coughing in the bathroom and now he's denying things that Finn never considered in the first place? The human boy had a feeling something was up with Jake. He now noticed that Jake's skin tone was paler. Finn feared that maybe Jake was indeed sick and was bent on getting an answer out of the pale canine.

"Jake, why are you looking so pale?" he asked.

"I'm pale?" Jake replied, feigning ignorance and hoping that Finn bought into it. He looked at his arm and said, "Oh, hey! I guess I am a little pale, huh? Must've been that new soap I bought from the Squeez-E-Mart! Clearly, my skin isn't meant for that kind of soap!" He added in some awkward chuckles for good measure, hoping to Glob that Finn bought the excuse.

He didn't buy it. "Jake, we don't even use soap! We use body wash! It's more manlier!" Finn reminded him. Jake mentally kicked himself for telling such a foolish lie. He tried to walk forward and ignore it, hoping that Finn would follow suit, but Finn stepped in front of him and forced him to halt. "Tell the truth, Jake!"

"There's nothing to tell!"

"Jake!"

"Finn, get out of my way! I think I hear a Housie in trouble!"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"Nothing's wrong!" Jake was getting angrier; a very bad thing to happen while being ill.

"Stop lying!"Just then, a piercing scream from the distance cut the argument short. Both boys turned around and heard more screams in the direction of the first one. Finn reached into his backpack and took out his binoculars. Looking through them, he set his sights to the direction of the screams. It was the Housie Village and it was under attack! Finn could see five Whywolves in the distance attacking several Housies that were running for their lives.

Finn gasped. "Jake," he said, "the Housies are under attack! We gotta save them!" Finn dropped his binoculars and sprinted towards the Village to save them. Jake picked up the binoculars and saw the attack, as well.

"I'm right behind you, Finn!" he said. Jake stretched his legs ten feet long and ran towards the village to help Finn. Jake soon realized that his condition has not gotten better and had actually gotten worse. Every inch that Jake stretched felt excruciatingly painful to his legs. The pain was enough to make Jake wince in pain and almost cry; a rare sight. Jake persevered and ran towards the village, with every step feeling like he was stepping on hot coals.

"Help me!" a pink female Housie with glasses pleaded as she ran away from a pursuing Whywolf. She didn't dare look back and only focused on what was in front of her. All she saw were her neighbors scrambling to get away from the attackers. She noticed that the Bank and Barn Housies had already lost their exterior bodies and were running around naked and screaming. The Jail Housie attempted to uphold the law, but was thrown into the Old Well by a Whywolf a minute ago. The female Housie, not watching where she was going, tripped over a rock and landed face first. She turned around and was face-to-face with a bloodthirsty Whywolf. This was it for her. She shut her eyes and prayed quietly that a savior would come.

"Pray all you want!" her attacker said. "Your Housie flesh is mine!" The Whywolf licked his lips in sadistic satisfaction and lunged at the defenseless House person in front of him.

"Hands off the housing market!" Finn shouted and punched the Whywolf in the face; the force strong enough to send it a good four feet. The Whywolf landed on his feet, turned around and pounced towards Finn; its claws ready to tear off as many fragments of his flesh as he can.

Finn rolled towards him and the Whywolf missed completely. Finn shoulder tackled the Whywolf and caused it to clash headfirst into the side of the Old Well with a sickening _**CRACK! **_sound. Finn was unsure if he killed the creature, but immediately ran off to help the other Housies in danger.

By this point, Jake had made it to the village, completely out of breath and his legs aching. He shrunk his legs back to their regular length and observed the damage. Thankfully, only two naked Housies were running around, so that was a good sign. Well, in terms of House people. Jake was set to go help Finn, who was wrestling with a two-headed Whywolf, but was ambushed by two Whywolves that were hiding within a bush behind him. The two creatures held his arms and legs down and chuckled evilly, not knowing that they were against a magic dog.

Without a word, Jake shrunk down to the size of a chicken egg. Both Whywolves looked down at small Jake and were greeted to his enlarged fists punching them both in the face, sending them flying toward a nearby lake. While the strikes undoubtedly hurt the two Whywolves, Jake's fists throbbed in pain. There was no doubt that this illness was taking a toll on Jake's body, but he didn't concern himself with it. Instead, he set his sights on a lone Whywolf that had a Dog Housie in his mouth, lightly chewing it.

Jake stretched his hand into the shape of a bowling ball and directed it to the back of the Whywolf's head, the impact being devastating enough to force him to spit out the Dog Housie in his mouth.

"Steeeeeeeerike!" Jake said. The happiness was short-lived as his hand suddenly went numb. His stretched arm then dropped to the ground like a garden hose. It was a strange sensation. He tried to move his extended arm, but couldn't. He poked his arm with his other hand and didn't feel it. What on earth was happening? Jake let out another cough and fell on one knee. He coughed again and used his hand to block his mouth. After another series of hacks, he pulled his hand away from his mouth and was shocked to find drops of blood splattered on it. This frightened Jake and made him finally fear for his health. Enough was enough; he needed help.

"This open house is CLOSED!" Finn shouted, kicking the two-headed Whywolf in the mouth. It got back up and pounced at Finn, grabbing him and holding him down. Before it could do any further damage, the Dog Housie that had recently gotten loose from the other Whywolf's mouth was actually launched full-force towards the attacking Whywolf's buttocks and took a bite. The wolf howled in pain upon impact and turned to find his behind being munched on by a Housie. Finn noticed his heads were turned and took advantage of the distraction. He ran towards their direction and smacked the back of both of his heads to infuriate him. This was all a ploy to get him to follow Finn, who was running towards Jake.

"Jake, your stretched arm is giving me a great idea!" Finn said. He was too busy to notice the blood on Jake's hand and the numb sensation that was coming from his arm. Finn took his stretched limb and wrapped it around a large rock nearby, creating an impromptu slingshot. Jake looked up at the contraption and didn't even notice his arm was being used for it. Jake then saw the two-headed Whywolf Finn was fighting earlier dashing towards the human boy with claws ready to slash him.

Jake's eyes grew wide and he gasped. "Finn, behind you!" he warned. Finn turned around to see he was mere inches away from receiving deep lacerations to the face. He immediately fell backwards and landed on the grass, completely dodging his large claws. The Whywolf instead sprang stomach-first on Jake's stretched arm, drawing it back like one would draw their hand back when preparing to fire a slingshot. Jake's long arm cocked back long enough to then snap forward and launch the Whywolf into the sky at high speed. He heard it howl loudly as it flew through the skies, nearly kissing the clouds above.

Finn kipped up and said, "Algebraic! Hey, Jake! You saw that?" Jake's stretched arm slowly stretched back to its normal length. He has regained some feeling from it, but it was minimal and Jake felt like his whole body was going to shut down at any moment.

"Yeah, man," he half-heartedly replied. He rubbed his arm and started to feel lightheaded. His hearing and vision now seemed to dissolve away. He heard Finn talk, but only heard faint sounds, as if he were behind soundproof glass. Slowly, his eyes glazed over and it felt like the world was pushing itself away from Jake. This sensation was surreal to the yellow canine. To him, it felt like a dream; a dream where he has no control over the events. All he could do is sit back and go along with the ride.

"Jake?" a faint voice said. Jake could barely hear it.

"Jake!" it said again. It sounded closer now, but not much clearer.

"JAKE!" Now it was clear. Jake recognized it as Finn.

"JAAAAAAAAAAKE!" Like a light switch, Jake snapped back to his senses instantly. He looked straight ahead and saw a very concerned Finn grasping his shoulders. Jake saw his glassy eyes and it seemed that Finn might burst into tears at any moment.

"Finn?" he asked weakly. Jake felt completely drained of energy and could barely stand, let alone talk.

"Jake, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Finn asked with concern. He didn't understand this sudden turn of events. Jake held his own with the two Whywolves earlier, so Finn didn't comprehend why Jake is feeling ill. Did the Whywolves attack him? Was it because they didn't eat breakfast? Or was it because Jake was indeed sick? It was obvious to Finn that the latter was indeed the right answer.

Still trying to keep this charade up, Jake forced a weak smile and told Finn, "Well, I might be feeling a little under the weather. I might need some tea, or..." He felt a dizzy spell again. "Or... maybe I..." That earlier sensation came back with a vengeance as Jake fell face-forward into Finn's arms, frightening the boy.

"JAKE!" Finn exclaimed. His brother's body felt really cold and his once-golden coat was now a pale shade of yellow. He laid him on the floor gently, being careful not to hurt him. Jake's eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily, with every breath he took sounding like rusty gears turning. It felt even worse than it sounds.

"What's wrong, Jake?! What's wrong?! Tell me, please!" he pleaded, nearly in tears. Jake didn't respond. Finn shook his shoulders and smacked his face lightly. "Jake, speak to me!"

No reaction. Finn shed one tear and held him close in his arms. He sobbed quietly into Jake's shoulder and squeezed him tight, hoping that he would say something.

"Jake... Jake, please wake up," Finn begged and cried some more. He could feel Jake's heartbeat through his chest as it tried to pump some life into him.

"Finn..." Jake whispered with a hoarse tone.

Finn opened his eyes and was relieved. "Jake!" he said with glee. He looked at Jake's face and saw that his eyes were half-open and his face showed no emotion. No sadness, no agony; not even a frown. It's almost as if he was dead. The grim nature of Jake's face only filled Finn with more despair.

Jake moved his eyes to look at Finn's. All he saw was a human boy that was completely distressed about the health of his brother and best friend. This is the exact thing that Jake was trying to avoid. He didn't want to worry Finn, but now he noticed that Finn was beyond worriment. Now he was anguished. Jake knew he messed up by not telling him sooner, but it didn't matter now.

"Finn," he said with a strained voice. "I think I need to..."

"Save your breath, man. I'm taking you to the hospital. Just hang in there!" Finn responded. Being careful, he picked him up and carried him to the direction of the Candy Kingdom Hospital. Jake felt like a big sack of pudding, but Finn shifted his focus on getting him medical help and fast.

"You're gonna be okay, Jake," he assures him tearfully. "You're gonna be okay."

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_**I never get writer's block. I just get lazy.  
-Mr. Nanook**_


	3. Breakdown

**BREAKDOWN**

Twenty minutes ago, a distraught Finn burst into the hospital in tears holding a very sick dog in his arms. He ran towards the receptionist and pleaded for somebody to help him. Within seconds, a team of six candy nurses burst through the doors behind the receptionist with a gurney in tow. Finn placed his brother on the gurney and informed the nurses that Jake couldn't breathe properly. Another nurse came in with a portable oxygen tank connected with a mask. He placed the mask around Jake's mouth and strapped it over his head, assisting him with his respiratory functions. The nurses carried the gurney away to the emergency room as Finn looked on.

Finn is currently sitting down in a bench in the hospital waiting room more nervous than he's ever been in his whole life. Not because of the needles, the sound of others weeping, or the sight of blood. No, that was kiddy stuff for Finn. All he focused on was with why Jake suddenly collapsing after the battle with the Whywolves. What was wrong with Jake? Was he dehydrated? Did he stretch too much and pulled something? Finn desperately wanted to know if his friend would be okay.

"Maybe I should read something to take my mind off it," he suggested to himself. He reached for a nearby magazine labeled _Ooo Digest _and opened it up. He soon found himself reading an article that the Ice King submitted about his penguins. Surprisingly, it was pretty good, according to Finn. The article told about the penguins in the Ice Kingdom and included an "exclusive" interview with Gunter, with the translations being provided by Ice King.

Finn nodded in agreement with the points that Gunter had made in the interview concerning the political state of the Wildberry Kingdom, stating that it was a "closet monopoly waiting to be exposed!" He turned the page and saw an anti-smoking advertisement. You see, in the Land of Ooo, tobacco is non-existent. However, a successor to the plant named "Tiamat" was discovered around two-hundred years ago and has similar, if not the same characteristics of tobacco. The plant is purple in color and is actually two times deadlier than tobacco. This actually had it banned in the Candy Kingdom thirty years ago, but this hadn't stopped it from being illegally distributed through various black markets around the kingdom. The advertisement in question depicted an ill lollipop person in a hospital bed surrounded by eight of his loved ones. The scene had a caption over the scene written in typewriter font that read the following:

**WITHOUT BIOMASS, THE AVERAGE CANDY PERSON LIVES FOR 80 YEARS.  
ADDING TIAMAT TO THE MIX REDUCES THIS NUMBER DRASTICALLY.  
IS A BRIEF MOMENT OF BLISS WORTH A LIFETIME OF MISERY?  
YOUR CHOICE.**

The thought of Jake being the one in that hospital bed with tubes up his nose almost made Finn shed a tear. He shrieked in terror and threw the magazine over his shoulder, earning several confused glances from nearby people. He chuckled nervously and turned his attention somewhere else. He turned to his left and saw a male chocolate ice cream cone with a sling around his broken arm. He then turned to his right and saw a pair of marshmallow kids playing with their action figures. The play was rather aggressive as both kids were smacking their figurines together with force, creating loud clacking sounds and disrupting the man reading the newspaper. Finn laid back and put his back against the wall behind him. All he could think about was Jake.

Sure, Jake had been sick several times in his life, but it was never bad enough to land him in the hospital. There was that one time where Jake asked for a story, but that was nothing compared to this. Jake may have been lazy, but he's never one to ignore his own health. Finn contemplated the possibility that Jake had been hiding the disease from him. He considered it, bringing up the time he invited Jake to scavenge parts to create a fence to keep fire wolves away from the Ice Kingdom.

"Finn?" a voice next to him asked. He looked up and saw Dr. Ice Cream, who had just finished diagnosing Jake.

"Dr. Ice Cream!" he exclaimed. "Is Jake okay? Where is he? Can I see him?"

The doctor looked on at the frantic boy and said, "Finn, let's talk about this in my office. I need to show you something." She then pointed to the room where her office was located. Finn was confused but agreed and they both walked towards her office. It was a small room composed of a large brown wooden desk with a computer on top, a plastic mug filled with many pens, and a rolling chair on each side. The walls were adorned with several degrees and awards that Dr. Ice Cream had been honored. In the center of all these awards was a computer screen with a long vertical slot aside it. Finn took a seat in front of the doctor.

"So what's going on with Jake?" Finn asked, being eager to know the current state of his friend. "Is he okay?"

Dr. Ice Cream sighed and told him, "No, Finn. He's not well. Jake is very sick."

Finn's eyes grew wide. He asked her, "How-how sick is he?"

The dairy product doctor pulled out a manila folder labeled "JAKE D.", opened it up and took out a sheet of paper. "We did some tests and well..." She paused for a moment. Finn was incredibly impatient.

"Well, what?" he asked.

The doctor took a deep breath and said, "We found that Jake has Extendam disease."

"What's that?" he asked her. Finn didn't have the slightest idea what that meant. She looked at the sheet of paper and observed her findings.

"It's a rare disease that beings with stretchy powers can get," she explained. "Since Jake is a magic dog with stretchy powers, he was not immune to the disease. It's incredibly rare to catch, as the odds are one in a thousand," She sighed sadly. "Jake isn't one of the lucky few."

Finn was dumbstruck upon hearing about his brother's illness and severe bad luck. He was still curious to know more, so he asked her what the disease does to a being. Dr. Ice Cream stood up and walked to the wall behind her. She turned on the monitor behind him and inserted a sheet of paper into the slot next to it. Suddenly, a monochromic diagram of Jake's body was displayed onscreen, with dotted lines highlighting his head, chest, arms, and legs.

"You see, Finn," Dr. Ice Cream began. "Extendam disease affects both the internal organs and the muscle tissue." She pointed to Jake's legs on the diagram. "The muscle tissue breaks down due to many rigorous stretching sessions and becomes weakened. Eventually, movement becomes impossible, stretching or otherwise. This goes for the arms, as well."

"Oh, clam," Finn commented. The doctor pointed to the highlighted chest next. The Jake diagram became see-through and his digitized beating heart, liver, lungs, small and large intestines, and other internal organs in the chest area.

"The organs aren't much better. As the days progress, they deteriorate and waste away, no longer being able to function properly. First, the lungs become strained, making it harder to breathe." As she described the steps to organ failure, the diagram illustrated the effects of the disease, showing the lungs shrink and wither. Finn was horrified at the sight of it.

"Then the heart pumps slower," she said next as Jake's beating heart onscreen started to beat at a slower pace. "Then go the liver, stomach, and the rest. Soon, the person becomes nothing more than just flesh. Not really alive; just existing."

This new information of his brother's illness hit Finn like a ton of bricks. He couldn't believe that Jake was facing death and that soon everything that Dr. Ice Cream said will soon become apparent.

Finn needed to know one thing, though.

"But… but you guys can fix him, right? You can-you can make him be-be-better? Right?" he stammered nervously.

Dr. Ice Cream looked down in silence, not knowing how to break the bad news to Finn.

"Doctor? You can make him better, right? It's your job! You're doctors!"

The dairy doctor took a deep breath and informed him of the sad news. "Jake has a terminal illness, Finn. I'm afraid there's been too much damage done to the body and the disease is now in a late stage. There's nothing we can do."

Finn's eyes started to gloss over as soon as he heard the news. "Then that-then that means..."

"It means that he's going to Glob World soon, Finn. I'm sorry," she concluded. Finn fell to his knees. His lungs were running short on breath. All the sound around him started to fade away. He couldn't believe it. His best friend; hell, his _brother_ was dying and there was nothing they could do to save him. This was all too much for him to handle at the moment. He was just devastated and didn't know how to respond, so he got up and walked to the exit, keeping his head down and teary-eyes out of sight.

"Finn, wait!" the doctor called. Finn ignored her and kept walking all the way out of the hospital. "Where is that boy going?" She shook her head and walked back to the room where Jake is.

Jake was lying down in a hospital bed. He was breathing with the help of a medical ventilator and was hooked up to an electrocardiograph. Jake was breathing slowly and his eyes were partially open. "Hello, Jake. How are you holding up?" the doctor asked.

"Well, I'm dying of a terminal disease. Other than that, no complaints," he responded groggily.

Dr. Ice Cream smiled sadly. "Glad to see your sense of humor hasn't faded away," she remarked.

"Heheh, yeah. Where's Finn?" Jake brought up. He was wondering why he hadn't come to see him yet.

"He left," the doctor informed him.

Jake was confused. "He left? Where?"

"He didn't say."

"Hmm," Jake mumbled. "Why would he leave?" he thought to himself. It was then that he realized what was wrong. "Oh. I see what's going on."

Dr. Ice Cream was interested to know more. "You do?" she inquired.

"Yeah. Finn never learned how to deal with death properly. Our dad never told him."

"Told him what?"

Jake sighed. "It all started when our mom passed away."

* * *

**FLASHBACK: FINN - AGE SIX**

There was a huge thunderstorm that night. Joshua and his family were in their home. He was sitting in front of the bay window of the house watching the rain fall and thinking about the events that had happened the week before. His wife, Margaret, had passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. The whole family was devastated, except for Finn, who was completely oblivious of his mother's passing. Joshua didn't know how to break the news to the young boy, so he just didn't do it. He had decided to leave Finn with a babysitter on the day of the funeral, so he never knew about his mother's burial that day.

A nine-year old Finn walks into the room. He's wearing his familiar bear hat with a baby blue shirt and navy blue overalls. Small, black shoes covered his feet.

"Daddy, when's mommy coming back?" the young human boy asked.

"Soon, Finn. Soon," his father responded, not turning his head to face the boy.

Finn sat down and asked, "When mommy comes back, will she sing her lullaby for me?"

Joshua held back tears and took a deep breath. "Look, Finn. I need to be alone for a while. Go play with Jermaine or something."

"But dad," Finn whined, "I want to see mommy!"

"Finn. Please. Just go," Joshua pleaded. Finn got up and walked away. Joshua continued to look outside until another voice chimed in.

"Why, dad?" Jake asked. He had been watching his father and younger brother talk about their late mother. "Why don't you tell him the truth?"

Joshua sighed. "I just don't think I can. He's a human, Jake. I don't know how he'll react. I mean, what if he tries to kill himself just to be with her?" he worried.

"Finn's not like that. He can take it, dad. Plus, I don't think he knows what suicide even means," Jake assured. "He's a tough kid, dad. He should know what happened to..." He paused and choked up a bit. "...what happened to mom."

Joshua looked at Jake and sighed again. "You're right, Jake. I'll tell him. I don't know how or when, but I'll tell him," he promised his son. "Now go play with Finn for a bit. He needs someone to talk to."

"Okay, dad," Jake said. He left the room and left Joshua with his thoughts. The elder dog sat on his recliner and pondered on how he'll break the news to Finn. While thinking about that, he had dozed off and drifted to sleep.

Later that day, the rain had stopped. Joshua woke up and noticed that Finn was playing outside. Despite being such a young age, Finn was incredibly agile. Joshua had to tell him about his mother and how she won't be coming back. Joshua got up and opened the bay window.

"Finn!" he called.

"Yes, daddy?" Finn replied.

"Can you come in here for a minute? We need to talk about something important," Joshua was determined to tell Finn everything regardless of how he'll possibly react. Finn walked inside and saw his father sitting on his recliner.

"Sit down, son," he said, patting his lap to let Finn know that he should sit there. The young boy obliged at sat on his father's lap with a smile on his face.

"What up, daddy?" the young boy asked.

His father closed his eyes and took a deep breath. What he was about to say wasn't going to be easy for him or his son. "It's about your mother, Finn."

Finn's smile grew wider. "Oh boy! Is Mommy here? Can I see her? Please, dad? Please?" he frantically begged.

His father looked to the ground and told him the truth. "No, Finn. She's not here."

Finn's smile faded away. "What? When is she coming back?"

Joshua looked at the boy and sighed sadly. "She isn't," he told him.

Finn was befuddled by this revelation. He frowned and asked his father, "Why isn't she back?" His expression grew sadder. "Is it because she doesn't love me?" His eyes were starting to shed tears.

"No, no! It's not that!" Joshua assured him. "She loves you!" He paused for a minute. "Well, she loved you," he corrected.

Finn looked at his father with a puzzled look. "'loved'?" he inquired.

Joshua bit his lip. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Finn, she's not coming back because... well..." he trailed off.

"'Well', what?!" Finn squealed. He was very anxious to know what happened to his mother.

"She's dead, Finn," he told him.

Finn stood there with his puzzled expression; it never left his face. "She's dead? What does that mean?"

"We're alive, Finn. She isn't. It means she's not able to see us anymore." he told him. "Let's just say that... she's in Glob World now."

Finn knew about Glob World. It was a magical place where those that lived good lives go to rest for eternity. Those that enter Glob World can never go back to their previous lives. But what did his mother have to do with this, he thought to himself. Suddenly, it hit him.

_If mommy is in Glob World, then she can never, ever come back!_

That was it. Finn shed those long-overdue tears and sobbed. Joshua tried to hold Finn, but he leaped away. "Finn, wait!" he called out. Joshua leaped out of his chair to stop the frantic young boy, but was too late as Finn opened the front door and ran out, never turning back to face his father.

"Finn! Get back here this instant!" Joshua called as he saw Finn sprint out of the lawn and frantically call out "Mom! Mommy, come back!" Soon, the boy ran towards the tall trees. He was out of sight and his father was out of luck. He sighed angrily as he pondered on where Finn was thinking he would go at this hour. Night would come any hour now and the sun was already sinking under the horizon. Jake and Jermaine walked into the room soon enough to watch Finn run off.

"Dad, where's Finn going?" Jake asked as he saw his brother run off into the woods.

"Bloody heck if I know! Quick boys, help me find him!" Joshua ordered. In a flash, the dog family ran out of the house on all-fours to find the runaway boy.

* * *

Two hours had passed and the sun was long gone. The crickets sang their songs as the dog family searched high and low for the missing member of their family. They made it to a dark, clear meadow that was about a mile away from the house. They walked deeper into the clearing, only to find a large, hollow wooden log turned on its side. They were set to give up, go home, and fire a missing persons report until they heard a familiar sound.

It was Finn.

And he was sobbing quietly.

"Dad, do you hear that?" Jermaine asked. "I think it's Finn!" The dogs followed the sobs and it led them back to the log they saw earlier. Joshua bent down and found the boy hiding and sobbing inside the log. His condition was unpleasant, to say the least. His arms and legs were covered with small cuts and dirt, and his eyes were red and puffy. A small amount of mucus dripped from his nose. Joshua sighed in relief and reached for Finn, but the boy squealed loudly in an agonizing tone.

"NO!" he screamed. "I want my mommy!" He cried louder and curled into a ball. Joshua ignored it and forcefully pulled him out of the log. Finn tried running away again, but his father held his shoulders and prevented him from sprinting away again.

"Finn, stop that this instant!" Joshua demanded. "I already lost my wife, and I'm not going to lose my son, too!" Finn kept struggling as his brothers watched him. Eventually, the boy gave up, turned around and hugged his father's belly. His brothers joined and embraced the boy, starting to tear up themselves. Finn cried again and soaked his father's fur with his tears.

"I'm sorry, daddy," Finn cried.

"I'm sorry, too," he replied and hugged his sons.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter was one of the things that were overhauled when I decided to dig up this project. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be a nightmare sequence and Joshua would kill himself after it. I scrapped this due to it making absolutely no sense in hindsight. This was going to play a role later on in the story, but I'm currently rewriting the outline, so the original concept is pretty much dead. It's not a huge loss by any means. The original draft and outline were terrible and would not make an enjoyable story. Keep in mind that those were made last year when I was still beginning to write. You can see how much I've improved since then! Well, thanks for reading and please review if you have the chance. I'm starting to lose motivation here and listening to the song "Hold on to the Vision" is only going to get me so far! So some feedback would be greatly appreciated. Nanook out.**

_**Follow the damn train, CJ!  
-Mr. Nanook**_


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